Chronic pain is the leading cause of decreased life quality in today’s world. There are thus numerous alternatives for the management of pain. Not all these options will nonetheless address your pain, and most are basically not only a waste of your money and time but might also worsen the underlying cause of your pain. Massage and manipulation are the leading options for the management of chronic pain. There are three healthcare professionals licensed to handle manipulation or massage for chronic pain. These include physiotherapists, chiropractors, and osteopathic doctors.
Only a chiropractor in Chandler, AZ, among these healthcare professionals can, however, manage headaches. The management, in this instance, will feature combinations of passive and active exercises, massage, and spinal manipulation. There are different types of headaches handled differently in chiropractic care since they will respond in diverse ways to treatment. Here are these headache types.
Cervicogenic Headaches
These will often start with one-sided pain spreading from the rear side of the head to the front combined with arm and shoulder pain. Cervicogenic headaches are associated with underlying neck issues that might have been triggered by a new injury. Though these are not very common headaches, they remain unaffected by medications. Joint mobilization, spinal manipulation, and deep neck flexion exercises are some of the management options for cervicogenic headaches by a chiropractor. The objective of these techniques is the stretching of the deep flexor muscles of the neck.
Migraines
These are not only characterized by headaches but also nausea and dizziness, among other symptoms.
The available chiropractic management alternatives for migraines include neuromuscular massages, stress management, dietary counseling, and relaxation techniques. Neuromuscular massages center on migraine trigger points within the neck, head, shoulder, and back to ease symptoms and avert disabilities.
Tension Headaches
People assume that episodic tension headaches are nothing to worry about more, so after a long workday, but they need intervention. These arise from a prolonged tension in the head, shoulders, and neck. While spinal manipulation might have little effect on tension headaches, modified chiropractic therapy in the form of low-load craniocervical manipulation is quite effective. This treatment involves the application of a gentle force to neck joints combined with stretching. This promotes the rhythmic alignment of the cervical vertebrae.
Cluster Headaches
The duration for cluster headaches is generally shorter compared to that of tension headaches. Moreover, these are extremely painful, occur a few times a week in a particular season, and feature one-sided pain combined with nasal congestion and watery eyes on the affected side. While the seasonal nature of cluster headaches has been linked to allergies, this is inconclusive. The trigeminal nerve is nonetheless the affected one in cluster headaches. Manipulation techniques that align the cervical vertebrae will thus help in the alleviation of cluster headaches.
Most people reach for pain relievers when they experience a headache since they want to get on with their lives fast. While this might get you pain relief within a few minutes in some of the above headache types, the drugs have side-effects. Homemade remedies are, on the other hand, mostly ineffective and might also pose various health risks. Chiropractic care is the only safe and effective treatment option for headaches.
